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COVID-19

Bollywood stars hit by second wave of COVID-19

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(Last Updated On: April 5, 2021)

At least 13 Bollywood stars have been hit by what Indian officials say is the country’s second wave of Coronavirus, with COVID-19 cases in India reaching an all-time high in some states.

One state that has been particularly hard hit is Maharashtra – which has noted a considerable increase in cases in the past few weeks.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked central teams to visit Maharashtra and review the reasons for the spike in cases in the state.

In addition, the Maharashtra government on Sunday announced new restrictions, including a night curfew from 8 pm to 7 am in the state and a weekend lockdown.

Bollywood stars meanwhile have not been able to escape the virus and among those who tested positive for the virus include:

Akshay Kumar

Kumar has become the latest celebrity to test positive for COVID-19. News broke on Sunday of Kumar’s diagnosis. In addition, Kumar’s own ‘Sooryavanshi’ was scheduled to release in cinemas on April 30. However, with cinemas now shut in the new lockdown, dates could be affected in coming weeks.

Govinda

Hour’s after Kumar was tested positive, actor Govinda also got his results back showing he too had the virus. His wife Sunita Ahuja told local media that the 57-year-old actor has been experiencing “mild symptoms” and is following all the necessary protocols – he has isolated himself and is currently under quarantine.

Alia Bhatt

Actress Alia Bhatt announced she had tested positive on April 2 and will remain under home quarantine. In a post on Instagram, the actress wrote: “Hello all, I have tested positive for COVID-19. I have immediately isolated myself and will be under home quarantine. I am following all safety protocols under the advice of my doctors. Grateful for all your love and support. Please stay safe and take care.”

Fatima Sana Shaikh

On March 29 actress Fatima Sana Shaikh also informed her fans that she’s facing a similar scenario. “I have tested for COVID-19 and currently following all the precautions and protocols and have been quarantining myself,” said Shaikh in an Instagram post.

Vikrant Massey

Bollywood actor Vikrant Massey revealed he had tested positive for COVID-19 and through his Instagram account on March 28 he urged all those who were in contact with him to get tested. Massey had resumed filming for the Bollywood thriller ‘Love Hostel’ last month, but the actor maintained that he had taken all the necessary precautions. “Despite necessary precautions on the shoot, I have tested COVID-19 positive. In self-quarantine. Requesting all those who’ve come in contact with me in the last few days to get tested, ASAP. I am taking the prescribed medications and adequate rest and currently doing fine,” he wrote in his post. The actor also cautioned his fans to adhere to social distancing and safety protocol rules.

Paresh Rawal

On March 27, Paresh Rawal also announced he had tested positive for the virus. The Bollywood veteran took to social media to inform everyone about his condition, while warning those who have been in contact with him to get tested as well.

Kartik Aaryan

On March 22, Kartik Aaryan announced he had tested positive for COVID-19. The actor took to his Instagram and shared the news with his fans on Monday. He also urged his fans to pray for his recovery.

Aamir Khan

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan also tested positive for COVID-19 on March 24 and was at home in quarantine. He also urged everyone who had come into contact with him to get tested.

Manoj Bajpayee

During the second week of March, Indian National Award winner Manoj Bajpayee also tested positive for COVID-19. He told Gulf News last week that he was still feeling weak but was recovering.

Siddhant Chaturvedi

‘Gully Boy’ actor Siddhant Chaturvedi also tested positive last month. He immediately informed his fans in a social media post, while reassuring them that he was doing well and isolating at home.

Ranbir Kapoor

Ranbir Kapoor along with Ashish Vidhyarthi and filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali also tested positive for the coronavirus last month.

In the past 24 hours, India recorded 93,249 new coronavirus cases taking its overall caseload to almost 12.5 million (12,485,509).

COVID-19

WHO declares end to COVID global health emergency

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(Last Updated On: May 6, 2023)

The World Health Organization said Friday that COVID-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking a symbolic end to the devastating coronavirus pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions of people worldwide.

The announcement, made more than three years after WHO declared the coronavirus an international crisis, offers some relief, if not an ending, to a pandemic that stirred fear and suspicion, hand-wringing and finger-pointing across the globe, AP reported. 

The U.N. health agency’s officials said that even though the emergency phase was over, the pandemic hasn’t finished, noting recent spikes in cases in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

WHO says thousands of people are still dying from the virus every week, and millions of others are suffering from debilitating, long-term effects.

“It’s with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

“That does not mean COVID-19 is over as a global health threat,” he said, warning that new variants could yet emerge. Tedros noted that while the official COVID-19 death toll was 7 million, the real figure was estimated to be at least 20 million.

Tedros said the pandemic had been on a downward trend for more than a year, acknowledging that most countries have already returned to life before COVID-19.

He bemoaned the damage that COVID-19 had done to the global community, saying the pandemic had shattered businesses, exacerbated political divisions, led to the spread of misinformation and plunged millions into poverty.

When the U.N. health agency first declared the coronavirus to be an international crisis on Jan. 30, 2020, it hadn’t yet been named COVID-19 and there were no major outbreaks beyond China.

More than three years later, the virus has caused an estimated 764 million cases globally and about 5 billion people have received at least one dose of vaccine.

In the U.S., the public health emergency declaration made regarding COVID-19 is set to expire on May 11, when wide-ranging measures to support the pandemic response, including vaccine mandates, will end. Many other countries, including Germany, France and Britain, dropped most of their provisions against the pandemic last year.

When Tedros declared COVID-19 to be an emergency in 2020, he said his greatest fear was the virus’ potential to spread in countries with weak health systems.

Most recently, WHO has struggled to investigate the origins of the coronavirus, a challenging scientific endeavor that has also become politically fraught.

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COVID-19

COVID-19 in Iran: Nearly 900 new cases, 24 deaths recorded

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(Last Updated On: March 27, 2023)

The Iranian health ministry announced on Sunday that more than 890 new cases of COVID-19 have been identified across the country during the past 24 hours, adding that 24 patients have died in the same period of time, Fars News Agency reported.

“A sum of 891 new patients infected with COVID-19 have been identified in the country based on confirmed diagnosis criteria during the past 24 hours,” the Iranian Health Ministry’s Public Relations Center said on Sunday, adding, “454 patients have been hospitalized during the same time span.”

The ministry’s public relations center said 611 people infected with COVID-19 are in critical condition.

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COVID-19

China says 200 million treated, pandemic ‘decisively’ beaten

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(Last Updated On: February 17, 2023)

China says more than 200 million of its citizens have been diagnosed and treated for COVID-19 since it lifted strict containment measures beginning in November.

With 800,000 of the most critically ill patients having recovered, China has “decisively beaten” the pandemic, according to notes from a meeting of the ruling Communist Party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee presided over by President and party leader Xi Jinping, AP reported. 

China enforced some of the world’s most draconian lockdowns, quarantines and travel restrictions and still faces questions about the origins of the virus that was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019. Heavy-handed enforcement prompted rare anti-government protests and took a heavy toll on the world’s second-largest economy.

The official Xinhua News Agency quoted Xi as saying that policies to control the outbreak had been “entirely correct.” The abrupt lifting in November and December of the “zero COVID” policy that had sought to eliminate all cases of the virus led to a surge in infections that temporarily overwhelmed hospitals.

Case numbers have since peaked and life has largely returned to normal, although international travel in and out of China has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.

China is now transitioning to a post-pandemic stage after a fight against the outbreak that was “extraordinary in the extreme,” Xinhua said.

The government will continue to “optimize and adjust prevention and control policies and measures according to the times and situations with a strong historical responsibility and strong strategic determination,” Xinhua said.

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